Published: Wednesday, July 31, 2013 at 8:29 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, July 31, 2013 at 8:29 p.m.

A Mills River man was back in court Wednesday morning to face a murder charge in the 2012 death of a woman he was convicted of assaulting in 1990.

A District Court judge set a $250,000 secured bond for Kenneth Nelson Guthrie, 50, of 161 Queens Creek Drive, who has been charged with the first-degree murder.

Jackie Cain Maybin was paralyzed in the December 1990 attack. She died Dec. 18, 2012, and the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office determined the manner of death to be homicide because the cause of death was directly related to the assault, the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Tuesday.

“The cause of death for this 42-year-old Caucasian woman, Jacqueline Maybin, is pneumonia and/or urinary tract infection. According to investigative reports, the decedent was quadriplegic for the past 20 years due to a serious assault,” wrote Medical Examiner Brent Curry in his summary of findings for Maybin’s autopsy.

Guthrie's family members say he has already served his time. A jury found Guthrie guilty of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury in October 1991. He served four years in prison.

“We were just hoping that it was all over. We went on with our lives and we were very sorry for what happened to her,” Guthrie’s wife of 19 years, Mary Ann Guthrie, said Tuesday night. “He did not murder her. He should not be charged with first-degree murder.”

Some community members have asked whether double jeopardy would come into play. According to the N.C. School of Government, the double jeopardy clause of the Fifth Amendment protects against a second prosecution for the “same offense” after conviction.

“If a defendant is convicted of felonious assault and then the victim dies, the defendant may be prosecuted for murder,” according to the School of Government, which cites cases “Diaz v. United States” (1912) and “State v. Meadows” (1968).

After the assault, Maybin was paralyzed from the chest down, confined to an electric-powered wheelchair and had regained little movement in her arms and head. She spent most of the rest of her life in rest homes, said her friend of 28 years, Harry Ledbetter, who visited with her at the homes almost every day.

Because of her inability to move, Maybin often developed bed sores and fought infections and health complications that had her hospitalized nearly four of her last 22 years, he said, adding, “She was always in pain.”

Maybin, who was 42 when she died, had lost most of her teeth. Her hair had turned gray, and she relied on a colostomy bag and catheter. She had come close to death more than once, Ledbetter said. Maybin had pneumonia in her lungs before, but she fought it. The second infection proved too much for her body to handle.

Doctors told her she wouldn’t make it to her 40th birthday, Ledbetter said, and the prognosis haunted Maybin’s thoughts for years.

“She had that in her head,” he said.

At Guthrie’s 1991 hearing, a neurosurgeon testified that skin, lung and heart complications caused by paralysis often shorten a paraplegic’s life. Maybin spent 38 days in the hospital’s neuro-trauma intensive care unit before being moved to a regular room after the assault. She went home four months later.

The assault

Maybin was voted best-dressed in junior high and was a teen who loved spending hours in shopping malls. She was a happy “burst of energy” when Ledbetter said he first met her. She started working for his grandparents’ Home Food Shop when she was 14.

Within a year, she became pregnant with her first child, Ledbetter said. At 15, she was married. At 20, her life as she had known it would change dramatically.

Maybin was estranged from her husband with two young sons and was engaged to be married when on Dec. 22, 1990, Ledbetter said Maybin got into a bad fight with her fiancÚ, Guthrie, while coming home from a Christmas party.

“They were always arguing and fighting,” he said.

Both Maybin and Guthrie had been drinking at the party in 1990, according to testimony at Guthrie’s October 1991 trial. Defense attorney Harley Stepp said Maybin came into the house with her pants down screaming that she had been attacked. She said someone attempted to rape her, but would not identify the attacker, witnesses testified.

Guthrie and Maybin left the party. While traveling in Guthrie’s truck, the couple began fighting, according to testimony. Maybin jerked the steering wheel, and the truck crashed into a muddy embankment. Guthrie testified that Maybin ended up outside the truck in ankle-deep mud.

The accident, Guthrie argued, is where most of Maybin’s injuries came from. Maybin said Guthrie kicked her and dragged her through the mud.

A neurosurgeon testified that Maybin’s injuries did not resemble those normally caused by a traffic accident. He said Maybin had many arc-shaped bruises all over her body, like ones that would have come from a cowboy boot.

Her neck was broken in several places, and her spine was crushed. It took 20 minutes to clean the mud from Maybin’s nose and ears, according to testimony.

Then-District Attorney Alan Leonard said Maybin’s “life is just as shattered as those bones in the back of her neck. He sentenced her to a slow, premature death.”

Living within limits

Ledbetter said Maybin found pleasure in the small things during her last few years of life. She enjoyed reading the Bible and listening to the Bible’s books on tape.

“She loved to sit outside... She loved to be in the sun,” he said. “About every day I tried to go by and see her... She was a good friend.”

Ledbetter said he took her fishing last summer. With a line rigged to her chair, she landed two fish. It was a happy moment.

Setting bond

Mary Ann Guthrie said her husband has rebuilt his life after prison and works as a contractor. They had all hoped the past was behind them until his arrest Tuesday.

“He’s never laid a hand on me. He’s a wonderful husband,” she said. “I want him home where he belongs.”

District Court Judge Emily Cowan set Guthrie’s bond at $250,000. Guthrie waived his right to court-appointed counsel and informed the court that he would be hiring his own lawyer. He was represented in court Wednesday morning by attorney Roy Neill.

Cowan informed Guthrie that he could face the maximum penalty of death or life imprisonment if convicted of first-degree murder.

Maybin’s relatives were present in the courtroom, but declined to talk to the news media.

Guthrie’s family also filled a few rows in the courtroom Wednesday and wiped away tears as Guthrie was led back to jail. He is set to appear in court again for an administrative hearing on Aug. 26.

<p>A Mills River man was back in court Wednesday morning to face a murder charge in the 2012 death of a woman he was convicted of assaulting in 1990.</p><p>A District Court judge set a $250,000 secured bond for Kenneth Nelson Guthrie, 50, of 161 Queens Creek Drive, who has been charged with the first-degree murder.</p><p>Jackie Cain Maybin was paralyzed in the December 1990 attack. She died Dec. 18, 2012, and the Chief Medical Examiner's Office determined the manner of death to be homicide because the cause of death was directly related to the assault, the Henderson County Sheriff's Office said in a news release Tuesday.</p><p>“The cause of death for this 42-year-old Caucasian woman, Jacqueline Maybin, is pneumonia and/or urinary tract infection. According to investigative reports, the decedent was quadriplegic for the past 20 years due to a serious assault,” wrote Medical Examiner Brent Curry in his summary of findings for Maybin's autopsy.</p><p>Guthrie's family members say he has already served his time. A jury found Guthrie guilty of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury in October 1991. He served four years in prison.</p><p>“We were just hoping that it was all over. We went on with our lives and we were very sorry for what happened to her,” Guthrie's wife of 19 years, Mary Ann Guthrie, said Tuesday night. “He did not murder her. He should not be charged with first-degree murder.”</p><p>Some community members have asked whether double jeopardy would come into play. According to the N.C. School of Government, the double jeopardy clause of the Fifth Amendment protects against a second prosecution for the “same offense” after conviction. </p><p>“If a defendant is convicted of felonious assault and then the victim dies, the defendant may be prosecuted for murder,” according to the School of Government, which cites cases “Diaz v. United States” (1912) and “State v. Meadows” (1968).</p><p>After the assault, Maybin was paralyzed from the chest down, confined to an electric-powered wheelchair and had regained little movement in her arms and head. She spent most of the rest of her life in rest homes, said her friend of 28 years, Harry Ledbetter, who visited with her at the homes almost every day.</p><p>Because of her inability to move, Maybin often developed bed sores and fought infections and health complications that had her hospitalized nearly four of her last 22 years, he said, adding, “She was always in pain.” </p><p>Maybin, who was 42 when she died, had lost most of her teeth. Her hair had turned gray, and she relied on a colostomy bag and catheter. She had come close to death more than once, Ledbetter said. Maybin had pneumonia in her lungs before, but she fought it. The second infection proved too much for her body to handle.</p><p>Doctors told her she wouldn't make it to her 40th birthday, Ledbetter said, and the prognosis haunted Maybin's thoughts for years.</p><p>“She had that in her head,” he said.</p><p>At Guthrie's 1991 hearing, a neurosurgeon testified that skin, lung and heart complications caused by paralysis often shorten a paraplegic's life. Maybin spent 38 days in the hospital's neuro-trauma intensive care unit before being moved to a regular room after the assault. She went home four months later.</p><p><b>The assault </b></p><p>Maybin was voted best-dressed in junior high and was a teen who loved spending hours in shopping malls. She was a happy “burst of energy” when Ledbetter said he first met her. She started working for his grandparents' Home Food Shop when she was 14. </p><p>Within a year, she became pregnant with her first child, Ledbetter said. At 15, she was married. At 20, her life as she had known it would change dramatically.</p><p>Maybin was estranged from her husband with two young sons and was engaged to be married when on Dec. 22, 1990, Ledbetter said Maybin got into a bad fight with her fiancÚ, Guthrie, while coming home from a Christmas party.</p><p>“They were always arguing and fighting,” he said. </p><p>Both Maybin and Guthrie had been drinking at the party in 1990, according to testimony at Guthrie's October 1991 trial. Defense attorney Harley Stepp said Maybin came into the house with her pants down screaming that she had been attacked. She said someone attempted to rape her, but would not identify the attacker, witnesses testified. </p><p>Guthrie and Maybin left the party. While traveling in Guthrie's truck, the couple began fighting, according to testimony. Maybin jerked the steering wheel, and the truck crashed into a muddy embankment. Guthrie testified that Maybin ended up outside the truck in ankle-deep mud.</p><p>The accident, Guthrie argued, is where most of Maybin's injuries came from. Maybin said Guthrie kicked her and dragged her through the mud.</p><p>A neurosurgeon testified that Maybin's injuries did not resemble those normally caused by a traffic accident. He said Maybin had many arc-shaped bruises all over her body, like ones that would have come from a cowboy boot.</p><p>Her neck was broken in several places, and her spine was crushed. It took 20 minutes to clean the mud from Maybin's nose and ears, according to testimony.</p><p>Then-District Attorney Alan Leonard said Maybin's “life is just as shattered as those bones in the back of her neck. He sentenced her to a slow, premature death.”</p><p><b>Living within limits</b></p><p>Ledbetter said Maybin found pleasure in the small things during her last few years of life. She enjoyed reading the Bible and listening to the Bible's books on tape. </p><p>“She loved to sit outside... She loved to be in the sun,” he said. “About every day I tried to go by and see her... She was a good friend.”</p><p>Ledbetter said he took her fishing last summer. With a line rigged to her chair, she landed two fish. It was a happy moment.</p><p><b>Setting bond </b></p><p>Mary Ann Guthrie said her husband has rebuilt his life after prison and works as a contractor. They had all hoped the past was behind them until his arrest Tuesday.</p><p>“He's never laid a hand on me. He's a wonderful husband,” she said. “I want him home where he belongs.”</p><p>District Court Judge Emily Cowan set Guthrie's bond at $250,000. Guthrie waived his right to court-appointed counsel and informed the court that he would be hiring his own lawyer. He was represented in court Wednesday morning by attorney Roy Neill.</p><p>Cowan informed Guthrie that he could face the maximum penalty of death or life imprisonment if convicted of first-degree murder.</p><p>Maybin's relatives were present in the courtroom, but declined to talk to the news media.</p><p>Guthrie's family also filled a few rows in the courtroom Wednesday and wiped away tears as Guthrie was led back to jail. He is set to appear in court again for an administrative hearing on Aug. 26.</p><p>Reach Weaver at emily.weaver@blueridgenow.com or 828-694-7867.</p>